Preble County, Ohio - Chapter 13: Military Record, 1915

Chapter 13: Military Record

I offer no apology for praising the record made by the men of Preble county in the wars of the United States with its foes, whomsoever they were.

Preble county belongs to Ohio and takes just pride in the record made by Ohio men, and in each war the men of the county followed closely their chosen leaders. It must hot be forgotten that the War of 1812 was won in the northwest by an Ohio resident, Gen. William Henry Harrison, whose ashes rest in her bosom.

When the War of the Great Rebellion shook the fabric of the nation until the hearts of many of our strongest men faltered, the nation in its need called Ohio men to lead and save. They came from hillside and plain, from the plow, the workshop and office, until, when the struggle was ended and the old flag floated out, kissing every breeze, absolutely and not in name only, "the flag of the free heart's only home/' and the count was made up, it was found that one-eighth of all the men who fenced in the Rebellion, with a line of bayonets and guns that was unbreakable, were Ohio men.

I would not be understood to cast a shadow on our God-given leader in that great struggle, Abraham Lincoln, whom I regard as the noblest, gentlest, kindest, manliest man that has graced the earth since the day the Great Gallilean blessed the earth with His presence. But the grand ideas and plans of the immortal Lincoln had to be carried out and executed by men of iron will, steady nerves, relentless purpose and clear brains, and Ohio furnished more men who measured up to that standard than any other state/

Let me name, "lest we forget," some of those men who were either natives of citizens of Ohio, and the reader will winder how the history of those four years could be written and leave out the record made by Ohio men : Irvin McDowell, George B. McClellan, William S. Rosecrans, Don Carlos Buel, O. M. Mitchell, Quincy A. Gilmore, Phil H. Sheridan, William T. Sherman, E. M. Stonton, Salmon P. Chase, Robert C. Schenck, William B. Hazen, George A. Custer, James B. McPherson, U. S. Grant, Benjamin F. Wade and .others.

for all, and all wrote their names on the scroll of fame, but justice to Ohio is not egotism. Right well Preble county responded to the call, as will fully appear in the records of the individual organizations.

The county was settled after the Indian wars were thought to be over and the settlers thought they had naught to fear but the wild beasts and rattlesnakes which abounded. But, shortly after the 1812 War started, skulking bands of Indians killed one man near New Paris and two on Twin creek, and the fear of Indian depredations and massacre filled every home. Even at that early day, with so few people, companies were made up largely, or in some cases entirely, from Preble county by the following men, who will be recognized as belonging to our county : Richard Sloane, James I. Nesbit,

John Fleming, Joseph C. Hawkins, David E. Hendrix, Captains Ramsey, Phillips and Rex. Alex C. Mitchell, the clerk, joined the army of Harrison in northern Ohio.

Watching The Wily Indian

There were frontier forts at St. Mary's and Loramie, and two others were built, one about seven miles north of New Paris in Darke county, and one in section 1 1 of Harrison township. At all of these forts, rude as they were, these companies at different times served from four to six months' time, as well as a number of men who were with Harrison at Ft. Wayne. These little forts thus garrisoned kept away Indian raiders. The forts furnished a safe abiding place for the men and a protection to their supplies. Different men, sometimes five or six at a time, were sent out, alone and in pairs, to wander quietly through the woods, sometimes days at a time, listening and looking for signs of Indians, and if any signs were found to report with all haste, when parties would be sent out to hunt them up and give battle. Harrison was keeping the main bands of Indians so busy up along the lake that it was known that none but small parties could get away.

But the Indians were as wary as the white men, and also discovered signs which told them that the whites were too many to give battle to, and that the locality might become dangerous for them if they stayed, and so, like the Arabs, they disappeared. Some shooting at each other was done, but no battle was fought. This kept up for about two years, when peace with the Indians came. The settlers returned to work and the fear of Indian forays became a memory only. In this way were the county homes protected in that early day. The soldiers fought no battle, but imagine if you can the wide, silent forest and the nervous strain to perform service.

"During the spring of 1813 many of the people of the vicinity of Eaton were attending church, and it was announced at the meeting that the soldiers at Fort Nisbet had been ordered to report to General Harrison at Fort Meigs; that there would be no garrison left and that there was danger from wandering bands of Indians. After the services were over, one of the elders made a speech proposing that they raise a company of men who were too old to be eligible for a call for soldiers and that they garrison the fort and perform all the guard duties. It met a responsive chord in the hearts of the people. The preacher, Rev. George Shideler, was elected captain, and twenty men volunteered, among them John Goldsmith, Silas Dooley, Moses Dooley, James Crawford, E. Hopkins, William Sellers and John Gardener and others. The next day they marched and held the fort until relieved later by Capt. Richard Sloan's company from Israel township. Thus promptly did they act when danger threatened their homes."

I have gone over a list of some two hundred names of men who served with some of the companies during that war, and it reads like going over the list of names of the county forty years ago, and many of the names yet remain with us. A list of the older families in any community of the county would contain some of the names. The late Dr. J. M. Miller, of Verona, had in his possession an old discharge of one of his ancestors who served in the block house in section 11 of Harrison township, which read as follows:

"I do certify that Jacob Miller a sargeant of my Company of Ohio Riflemen, in the Old Battalion*, tinder command of Alexander C. Lanier, has served a regular tour of duty, and is hereby discharged. Given under my hand this 5th day of April 1814.

A number of Preble county men did service in the Mexican War, but only one company as a separate organization was enlisted. When it reached Cincinnati to be mustered in and sent down the river under the command of Capt. Joseph S. Hawkins, it was one day too late, the full quota for the state having been filled the day before, and the company returned home and was disbanded. Jesse B. Stephens was appointed in the quartermaster's department, with the rank of captain, and went to Texas and served through the war. Upon his return, wishing to commemorate his service, he presented his sword to Bolivar Lodge No. 82, Free and Accepted Masons, which he had joined early in life, the sword to be the tyler's sword to guard the door. His name was engraved on the handle, and it is still on duty as the proper implement of the tyler's office, and is valued as a treasure by the lodge.

The Civil War

In recording the part taken by Preble county in the Civil War of 1861- 1865, I shall give the names of the regiments and companies and commanders of each, if from this county or closely connected with it, and trace the service performed by each. I do not deem it necessary to give a list of the enlisted men, for the reason that the state of Ohio has prepared a roster of the Ohio soldiers of that war, giving every name, so far as the records show, when he enlisted, where killed or wounded, and when discharged and why, making a work of quite a number of volumes. A full set of the work was placed by the state in every county recorder's office in the state, and a full set will also be found in each of our larger public libraries. There is one set in the Eaton public library. However, in that work there are errors of omission, even with the facilities at the hands of the state officials. Hence, with my limited means,

I could not hope to be more accurate than they, even if I copied. But as they are for inspection of all, each can copy such part as he wishes.

Within two days after Lincoln issued his first call, February 15, 1861, two regiments of Ohio men were on their way to Washington. Thus promptly did Ohio answer the call. To name all the battles and describe the part that Preble county soldiers took in that war would be to describe nearly every important battle of that long struggle. They obeyed orders, went wherever they were wanted, and did their full share to bring victory.

Before the end of April, 1861, two companies of the Twentieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry enlisted for three months, made up in a large measure of Preble county men. Company B had Capt. Ozro J. Dodds and First Sergt. John A. Whitesides, and among the privates was Robert Williams, Jr. Company C - Capt. Thomas Morton, Ensign Andrew L. Harris (later captain), Sergt. Peter O'Cain, Corporals James Mulharen and Abner Haines, Jr. Company D - Capt. A. N. Thompson, First Lieut. D. M. Ganes, Second Lieut. L. M. Gray, Third Lieut. Edward Cottingham, Ensign Robert Morgan. The lists of companies C and D read as if mostly made up of our own boys. During the whole time of the Civil War no draft was ever held or ordered for Preble county. They didn't wait long enough.

Of the Twenty-second Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company E, with Capt. Peter O'Cain, First Lieut. D. W. Sherman and Second Lieut. William E. Lockwood, was organized in August and September, 1861. The regiment was assigned to Missouri, under John C. Fremont, and for a time was called the Missouri Thirteenth. It got its first taste of war at Fort Donelson on February 16. While in position to charge the works with the rest of the division, the surrender came. The next was at Shiloh, the regiment numbering only four hundred and fifty men, but in those two days they lost eighty-nine men, which is almost twenty per cent, lost in one battle. Then the regiment took part in the movement resulting in the fall of Corinth. In July, 1862, the secretary of war authorized the regiment to resume its rightful name as the Twenty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. After various movements, it was engaged in the campaign against Vicksburg, from which place it was sent as a part of General Steele's army to Little Rock, Arkansas, and for several months was engaged in guarding the railroad and chasing the meanest of Arkansas guerillas, as mounted men. They were so successful that the country was quieted, but the boys never brought any guerillas in as prisoners. A part of the regiment re-enlisted and the balance, by reason of expiration of their term, were mustered out in November, 1864.

The Gallant Thirty-Fifth

The Thirty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized at Hamilton in August and September, 1861, with about nine hundred men. Company E - Capt. D. M. Gans, First Lieut. Edward Cottingham, Second Lieut. Levi P. Thompson. Company C - Capt. Samuel L. Homedien, First Lieut. William H. C. Steele and Second Lieut. George T. Earhart. The regiment's first battle was Mill Springs, and after a number of moves it took part in the siege of Corinth. Then, being at Nashville, it was detailed to Buel's force and took part in his race with Bragg to save Louisville, and was in the battles of Perryville and Crab Orchard, and then the campaign from Murfreesboro to Chattanooga. It was at Chickamauga, on the left of Thomas' lines, which finally assumed the shape of a great curve. The regiment was in the fiercest conflicts during the first and second days, when the Johnnies tried to turn the Union flank, but in the afternoon of the second a lull came and General Vandeveer, commanding the brigade, received word that help was needed on the right wing, and he drew the brigade out and double-quicked two and one-half miles across the rear of the Union army and formed alongside of General Brannon, hurriedly throwing up a slight ridge. The men lying. behind it received charge after charge of the Rebel line and broke them all. As the shades of night approached, the General heard sounds in front that indicated they might expect another charge, and he ordered all to be ready. But they had not am- munition left to load all the guns. A hurried search of the dead was made for ammunition, and just as dusk of night fell the charge came. When near, a volley was given the enemy and a yell raised as if they would charge, and the foe fell back into the timber. The brigade covered the retreat, and when the roll call came next morning at Rosswell Gap, the regiment had lost just half its men.

But, undaunted, the regiment was one of the column that later charged up Mission Ridge, and was one of the first over. Later it was with Sherman in a dozen of his battles on the Atlanta campaign, among them Kenesaw and Peach Tree Creek. It is enough to say that Whitelaw Reid states that the enemy never saw the back of the regiment. Because their term expired, the regiment was mustered out in August, 1864. Capt. Edward Cottingham was taken prisoner at Chickamauga and spent many months in Libby. He was one of those who tunneled under the street and escaped, but was retaken less than a mile from the Union lines.

The Forty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized at Camp Denison in August, 1861, eight hundred and fifty strong. Company D - Capt. John Wallace, Second Lieut. Joseph L. Pinkerton and Surgeon Gilmore. The regiment was one of the first of the three-year men to report, and was ordered to West Virginia under George Rosecrans, landing at Clarksburg on August 29, i86t. The regiment became a part of Robert L. McCook's brigade, and until December, 1862, the regiment was in the many movements back and forth, through and across the mountains, advancing or retreating, nearly all the time on the move, chasing guerillas out of the mountains and circumventing the activities of Floy's rangers. A study of the map of West Virginia will show some of the rough and desperately rough country, for the regiment was all over the state, engaged in a dozen small battles and many skirmishes.

In December, 1862, the regiment was sent down the river to Grant at Vicksburg, and was in all the movements back of that city and in its siege, twice charging Cemetery hill, but being beaten back each time. After the surrender it was of the force that captured Jackson, Mississippi. It went to Chattanooga in October, 1863, and took part in the battles of Chattanooga and Mission Ridge, and then marched toward Knoxville and back, in which movement the regiment was with no shelter but dog tents during the cold of the New Year's of 1864.

More than three-fourths of the men re-enlisted, and in May, 1864, were with Sherman in his Atlanta campaign and in nearly every big battle of that campaign, including Resaca, New Hope Church, Kenesaw, Ezra Church and

Atlanta. The regiment went with Sherman to the sea, and was one of the regiments that charged and captured Fort McAllister. The Forty-seventh made its charge along the seashore and its flag from the sea front was the first to rise above the breastworks of the fort. Just as the regiment swarmed to the top, the fort surrendered. I. N. Sliver, the one-armed soldier who was pur county recorder and for nearly thirty years was the clerk of Eaton, lost that arm while standing on top of those breastworks, just as the charge ended.

Then the regiment was in the movement through the Carolinas to Johnson's surrender, thence to the Grand Review. It was sent down the river to Arkansas to pacify the restless element there, and was mustered out in August, 1865. At the close of the Atlanta campaign the regiment numbered a hundred and twenty men in the line. The figures tell the awful toll taken by disease and death.

The Fiftieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry was mustered in during August, 1862, with nine hundred and sixty-four men. Company C - Capt. Patrick McGrew, First Lieut. David A. Ireland and Second Lieut. William O'Hara. On October 1, 1862, at Perryville, it had its first taste of battle and lost one hundred and sixty-five men killed and wounded. During the winter of 1862-63 the regiment spent much time in marching and counter-marching to head off that restless Johnny, John Morgan, in Kentucky and Tennessee. In December, 1863, was ordered to Knoxville to relieve Burnsides and crossed the mountains, frequently hauling the guns up by hand. From Knoxville it was ordered to join Sherman at Chattanooga, and marched the whole way. The brigade near Kingston fought and defeated three brigades of Wheeler's cavalry, and joined Sherman at Burnt Hickory.

During the Atlanta campaign the regiment was in nearly every big fight from Pumpkin Vine Creek to Jonesboro ; name them over and you have them. From Jonesboro it was sent back to follow Hood and join Thomas and at Spring hill the brigade had to drive back a brigade of Johnnies to continue their march. The regiment reached Franklin, after marching all night, at seven A. M., November 30, 1864, and wa s placed in line between the pike and the brick house. It was then two hundred and fifty strong, and at the close of the day it numbered one hundred and twenty-five men. It fell back to Nashville and was in that battle and helped chase the broken remnant of Hood's army. After that battle it was sent east across the mountains, at last reaching Salisbury, North Carolina, where it was mustered out, in June, 1865.

The Fifty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry was mustered in during the fall of 1861, eight hundred and fifty strong. Lieut.-Col. Robert Williams, Jr.,

Adj.-Gen. George W. Wilson. Company C - Capt Robert Williams, Jr.* First Lieut. G. M. White, Second Lieut. John Bell. There were also a half dozen men from this county in Company G.

The regiment was assigned to Sherman's division and was sent to Pittsburg Landing, and on April 6 and 7, 1862, received its first baptism of fire and lost one hundred and ninety-eight men. Thence it was in the move on Corinth. During the summer of 1862 the regiment was much of the time on the move from one point to another. In December it was sent down the river with Sherman and was in the battle of Chickasaw Bayou, thence up the Arkansas river and helped in the capture of Arkansas Post. The regiment was sent back to Vicksburg and was in the battles of Champion Hill and Big Black Bridge, and engaged in the movements around Vicksburg. After the fall of Vicksburg it was in the march to Jackson, Mississippi, and helped capture that place, thence to Chattanooga and the battle of Missionary Ridge. During the winter of 1863-64 the regiment re-enlisted and received two hundred recruits. In 1864 it was in the Atlanta campaign, being in the Fifteenth Corps under Logan, which alone tells that it was where fighting was the order of the day. It went with Sherman to the sea, and was part of the force that charged Fort McAllister ; thence they went through the Carolinas to the surrender of Johnson, and on to the Grand Review. Then the regiment went to Arkansas and was mustered out in August, 1865, being then two hundred and fiftyfive strong.

The Sixty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized in April, 1862. Company C - Second Lieut. Ross J. Hazeltine. Its first scrap was with John Morgan near Gallatin. During the summer of 1862 it did garrison duty at Nashville. In December it joined "Pap" Thomas' corps and was in the twodays battle of Stone River. It was then with Rosecrans on the Tullahoma campaign and finally to Chattanooga, and, under the command of Colonel Brigham, it captured and burned Ried's bridge, and then was detailed to guard the wagon train and hence was not really in the hard fighting at Chickamauga. It was in the charge up Missionary Ridge. The regiment was then in the Atlanta campaign to its close, and in all the battles of the Fourteenth Corps with the enemy, then with Sherman to the sea and through the Carolinas and on to the Grand Review. It was mustered out in July, 1865.

The Seventy-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry was mustered in December 18, 1861, at Cincinnati. The colonel at muster was Nathaniel C. McClean. Company C - Capt. Andrew L. Harris (later colonel of the regiment), First Lieut. Oscar Minor, Second Lieut. James Mulharen. Company G - First Lieut. Franklin J. Raikes, Second Lieut. Henry L. Morey.

The regiment was immediately sent to join General Milroy's force in West Virginia, and on April 12, 1862, fought its first battle near Monterey C. H. General Milroy then led his little force of three thousand men over the mountains, threatening Jackson's rear, when that old fighter turned with an army of twenty thousand and went after Milroy, who recrossed the mountains and stopped at McDowell to try to save the stores there, but Jackson's forces topped Bull Pasture mountain and paused. If Milroy retreated he was sure to be crushed, so about three in the afternoon of May 8, 1862, the Twenty-fifth and Seventy-fifth Ohio Regiments advanced and gave battle to a whole division and fought on until dark. The Johnnies thought there must be an army back of them. When dark came Milroy loaded all the stores he could haul and retreated down the Franklin pike to safety. So severe was the contest that no prisoners were taken by either side, and it was set down as one of the bloodiest fights of the war for the number engaged. A. L. Harris was severely wounded and the regiment lost eighty-seven men killed or wounded, while the Twenty-fifth regiment lost sixty-five men. Thereafter the regiment was in the battle of Cedar Mountain and the second battle of Bull Run, where it lost one hundred and fifteen men from its ranks. The next battle was Chancellorsville, where Jackson flanked the Union right wing and in the fight to hold Jackson's force in check the regiment lost one hundred and fifty-three killed and wounded and a number of prisoners.

From thence the regiment marched to Gettysburg and was in the first day's fight north and northeast of the town, and, with the army, fell back through the town, the brigade being commanded by Col. A. L. Harris, who had been promoted from major to colonel after the battle of Chancellorsville, where Colonel Reilly was killed. In falling back the men would stop at crossstreets and send grape and canister up the street to stop the enemy, and when they broke to come around the cannon would be hauled back a square or two to repeat the operation. After falling back through the town, the brigade was formed on Cemetery ridge, east of the Baltimore pike, and held their lines in the face of repeated attempts to break the line. In this battle Colonel Harris was again wounded, but tied his arm up and held his place to the end of the last of the three-days battle. The regiment lost fourteen officers out of sixteen, besides sixty-three killed, one hundred and six wounded and thirtyfour prisoners out of less than three hundred men that went into the battle. And the rest of the brigade lost in about the same proportion.

In August, 1863, *he Ohio brigade was taken to Morris Island, near Charleston, South Carolina, and was in line for a charge on Fort Wagner on the morning of September 7, when it was found that the fort had been aban- doned in the night. Then the brigade was sent to Jacksonville, Florida, where the Seventy-fifth was mounted, and Colonel Harris, with his regiment, was sent on a raid to the headwaters of the St. Johns and Kissimee rivers. They captured two schooners loaded with cotton, destroyed over five hundred other bales of cotton and a large quantity of army stores, and captured and drove in over five thousand head of cattle for beef. In July, 1864, the regiment destroyed the railroad bridge over the St. Mary's river and flanked the Johnnies out of Baldwin's Crossing.

In August, 1864, Colonel Harris, with two hundred men of his regiment, was sent on an expedition to the interior, but stirred up a hornet's nest, for the Johnnies were found in greatly superior numbers, and the regiment pushed on day and night to escape. On the morning of August 17 the men stopped to rest and breakfast near Gainsville, and soon were confronted by fourteen hundred Johnnies. The fight lasted over two hours, when Colonel Harris found his men were out of ammunition and there was no way of escape but to cut their way out. His men approved of the plan, and, putting himself at the head of the little band, they charged straight into the face of the enemy and went through, but left the awful toll of a hundred and sixteen killed and wounded and prisoners. The balance rode safely into Jacksonville.

In September and December, 1864, the regiment was engaged in other expeditions successfully. In November and December, 1864, the term of service of six companies expired and they were sent home and mustered out. The other four companies remained in Florida until August, 1865, when they also were mustered out.

The Eighty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry was mustered in in September, r86 1, at St. Louis, numbering about six hundred men, with Col. Thomas Morton and Lieut. -Col. D. C. Stubbs. Company E - Capt. R. Y. Larnius. Company F - First Lieut. Charles W. Lockwood. Then there were a number of privates also in Companies B and D. The regiment spent the fall of 1861 and that winter doing scouting service in Missouri. In March, 1862, it was sent to Pittsburg Landing, and took part in both days of that battle, charging and capturing a battery from the Johnnies on the second day. The regiment was then in the movements about Corinth and was in the battle of Corinth against Price in October, 1862. During the year 1863 the regiment was assigned to garrison duty at a number of different places in Tennessee and w'as in a number of severe skirmishes. In 1864 it joined Sherman's army and participated in the marches and battles of the Atlanta campaign. It went with Sherman to the sea and north across the Carolinas to the Grand Review.

The Eighty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized in May, 1862, for three months' service, and were immediately sent to West Virginia. Around and over much of that state it marched to intercept raiding bands of the enemy until its term expired, in September, 1862, when it was iritistered out. In July, 1863, the Eighty-sixth Regiment was again organized1 for six months' service. Lieut.-Col. Robert W. McFarland, of Oxford, was in the regiment, which had Preble county men in four companies, but no distinctly Preble county company. John A. Whitesides was sergeant of Company B.

The regiment was first stationed at Zanesville, and it was a part of the force that captured John Morgan. Then it was sent to Kentucky, forming a part of the force that captured Cumberland Gap with its garrison, and then formed part of the garrison until its term of service expired. It was mustered out in February, 1864.

The Ninety-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized at Dayton in August, 1862, numbering nine hundred and sixty-eight men all told, under Col. Charles Anderson. Company G - Capt. Matthew L. Paullus, First Lieut. Peter L. Paullus, Second Lieut. James C. Gilmore, and Samuel S. Black, wagoner. Company H - Capt. Matthias Disher, First Lieut. Janus N. Lake, Second Lieut. William W. Aker. In the regiment were nearly two hundred men from Preble county, many of whom, after the war, became quite prominent in the community where they resided, and some were well known in the county at large. I will name a few, not because they were better soldiers, but because they were later better known : Theodore Johnson, John B.

Two-Day Inferno

The regiment was sent to Kentucky and thence on to Nashville, and at Stone River got into its first real battle and suffered severely. In June, 1863. it was made a part of McCook's corps, and was in the Tullahoma campaign, and was in the front of Rosecrans' army across Lookout mountain. It reached a point about forty miles south of Chattanooga, when Rosecrans learned that the Johnnies were moving north to turn his flank and get in his rear, and the advance was withdrawn and a hurried march of two days was made along Lookout mountain's top. The regiment was placed in line at

Chickamauga, on the right wing, on September 18, 1863, and at once began skirmishing with the enemy, and on the 19th it was sent to the left wing, nine miles away, under "Pap" Thomas. Then for two days inferno reigned on that and all other parts of that battlefield, costing the regiment alone some two hundred killed and wounded. Then the retreat to Chattanooga and the long wait for help followed. On November 23 it was in the charge on Orchard Knob and lost sixty men in six minutes, but won. It was also in the charge on Missionary Ridge, and paid a heavy toll. On January 16, 1864, the regiment could only stack one hundred and seventy guns.

In May, 1864, the regiment was with Sherman on the Atlanta campaign to its end. Starting on that hundred days of battle with three hundred men from Buzzard Roost to Lovejoy Station, the regiment participated in practically the whole campaign.

When Hood started north, the regiment was sent back to Nashville with Thomas' army, and in the second day of the battle of Nashville it went into the fight with ninety men in line and lost twenty-five killed and wounded.

The regiment then was sent on several expeditions on as far as Asheville, North Carolina, and was mustered out in June, 1865, having during three years lost twenty per cent, killed, thirty per cent, wounded and twentyseven per cent, discharged for disability.

The Hundred and Twelfth Ohio Volunteer Infantry had a company started, but the regiment not filling up.'Capt. George Wightman's company was sent to Kentucky, transferred to the Sixty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry' and mustered in on September 13, 1862. Among the soldiers, George W. Hanger, Henry Lantis and John W. Scott are well known in the county.

The Hundred and Ninety-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, one-year men, was organized March 10, 1865. Company D, with First Lieut. James H. Stewart, held many Preble county boys. It was dispatched at once to Harper's Ferry, thence to the Shenandoah valley. Its service was only garrison duty. The regiment was mustered out September 3, 1865.

The Hundred and Fifty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry was one of the one-hundred-day regiments and it was mustered May 4, 1864. at Camp Dennison. Remember the toll of men that these years had been taking from our little county, then add that to this regiment six hundred and fifty men from this county who responded to the call. From farm, shop, office, store and bank they came to help what they could. They were first assigned guard duty at Cincinnati, then to Falmouth and to Paris, Kentucky. Then they went to Cumberland, Maryland, on the last day of July, 1864. The regiment marched to Flock's Mills, and had a skirmish with a raiding force under Bradley Johnson in the evening, and the next morning the Johnies had gone. It performed garrison duty and was mustered out September i, 1864.

Some of the officers of this regiment are as follows : Col. Caleb Marker, Lieut.- Col. William Saylor, Adjutant Robert Miller, Quartermaster Frank McWhinney, Surgeon V. G. Miller, Second Sergeant Lewis Mackey.

So clean did the war demands sweep our county of young, able-bodied men, that there was no school district of the county that did not have representatives in the regiment, and a great number of them were boys in their teens. Some of them then, too, were getting gray. All are gray now, but, bless them, I hope they will live to wear their gray hairs for many years.

The Fifth Ohio Cavalry was organized at Camp Dennison in August, 1861. With the regiment were Lieut.-Col. Thomas T. Heath (later colonel) ; Major Phineas R. Minor, Company E, with Capt. Joseph C. Smith; First Lieut. Caleb Marker and Second Lieut. Lewis C. Swerer. Company F had Capt. Pineas R. Minor, First Lieut. Charles B. Cooper, Second Lieut. John D. Truitt and First Sergt. Robert W. Morgan.

The regiment first met the enemy at Fort Henry and was, after the fall of Donelson, taken up the river to Pittsburg Landing, where it did scout duty for some three weeks before the battle. The regiment was in and through the battle at that place during the whole of the two days and pursued the enemy on the third day some eight miles, suffering the loss of many men. Then it was in the movements against Corinth until its capture. The regiment did scout duty until Van Dorn and Price made their advance on Corinth, when two hundred and fifty men of the Fifth Cavalry were at Davis Mills, and Van Dorn, with an army of ten thousand, attempted to brush them aside. But they stubbornly held their ground for several hours before falling back and when the enemy reached Rosecrans' army they were ready for them. This gallant fight so pleased Grant that he ordered the regiment to inscribe ''Davis Mills^ on its banner.

Then the regiment was broken into three battalions, which marched, counter-marched and skirmished all over that country until, in October, Sherman ordered the regiment to join his army and gave the order, "March at daylight." On the 17th it headed for Chattanooga, where it was guarding trains during the battles there, and after Missionary Ridge it was started for Knoxville to relieve Burnside, and followed the retreating enemy across the mountains. During the summer of 1864 it was again broken up and used in guarding the railroads that carried supplies to Sherman's army. On November 7, 1864, It was transferred to Kilpatrick's cavalry and 011 November 15 started with Sherman to the sea, being constantly employed in front or on one flank or the other during that march. They went on up through the Carolinas to the surrender of Johnson, when it was detailed as part of the force to occupy and pacify the seventeen western counties of North Carolina. It was mustered out October 30, 1865. It had been, in the four years, engaged in more than two hundred battles and skirmishes, large and small, and won praise from every commander under whom it served.

In addition to the foregoing regular organizations, there were Preble county men in some half dozen artillery' regiments and batteries; also a number in the gun-boat service. And as the county lies immediately along the Indiana line, many of them enlisted with boon companions in Indiana regiments and organizations. A count being had recently among the old comrades here, they named twelve such organizations that held them. Judge James A. Gilmore and \V. C. Dove, our waterworks superintendent for over twenty years, were in different Indiana regiments.

Squirrel Hunters

In the summer of 1862 the rebel, Gen. Kirby Smith, conceived the idea of gathering a strong force and making a dash at Cincinnati and capturing the city. But for the telegraph and railroads he would have succeeded, for he was well under way and but a few days' march from that city before his intention was discovered. There were not sufficient Union soldiers within reach to gather to check him. On September 2, 1862, Governor Todd issued his proclamation calling on all Ohio men with rifles to report with arms and amunition to Gen. Lew Wallace at Cincinnati. The next morning whole companies of men from surrounding counties were marching through the streets of Cincinnati, and they kept coming until almost sixteen thousand men, with squirrel rifles and deer guns, many of them carrying the old bullet pouch, had reported. They were assigned to positions and entrenched themselves on the hills of Kentucky within the next three or four days. Of the number, about three hundred and seventy-five came from Preble county. Gen. Kirby Smith's spies and scouts informed him of the situation and he halted a few miles away and sent out scouting parties, but Gen. Wallace stood pat, refused to be lured out and held the hills. In about ten days Smith withdrew and the men were sent home, being in the service from twelve to. fifteen days. Governor Todd had issued to each man a discharge, bearing the cut of a squirrel hunter, with bullet pouch and rifle, hence the name. In 1909 the Legislature of Ohio passed a law giving to all yet alive thirteen dollars for the service then performed.

In the war with Spain in 1898, some dozen young men from Preble county joined a company formed in Dayton, and were sent south to camp and drill, but never reached the battlefields of Cuba. Lieut. Crosley, of the United States navy, was from this county, and made for himself an enviable record in that war.